harge of them when they are hatched, and receives them within his mouth
to protect them from danger. From the observations of Professor
Agassiz, however, there is no doubt that in some species, at least, the
whole process of development is begun and completed in the gill cavity.

The species which lay their eggs in the sand belong to the genera
Hydrogonus and Choetobranchus. They build a kind of flat nest in the
sand or mud, in which they deposit their eggs, hovering over them until
the young are hatched.

Curious also is the little bill-fish--the lymnobellus--with its long
beak.

Another fish (the anojas), common in the Amazon, takes shelter--for it
cannot be said to build a nest--in a hollow log. It belongs to the
genus Auchenipterus. Numbers of this fish are found crowded in dead
logs at the bottom of the river. One examined by the Professor, was
filled with fish of all sizes, from those several inches long to the
tiniest young. The fish were so dexterously packed into the log from
one end to the other, that it was impossible to get them out without
splitting it open, when they were all found alive and in a perfectly
good condition. They could not have been jammed artificially into the
hollow wood in that way without injuring them.

ANABLEPS.

We have heard of blind fish, but here is one--called by the Indians
tralhote, and known to naturalists as the Anableps tetraophthalmus,
signifying "four-eyed"--possessing four eyes. A membraneous fold,
enclosing the bulb of the eye, stretches across the pupil, dividing the
visual apparatus into the upper and lower half; a curious formation,
suited to the peculiar habits of the anableps. These fishes gather in
shoals on the surface of the water, their heads resting partly above and
partly below the surface, and they move by a leaping motion somewhat
like that of frogs on land. Thus, half in and half out of the water,
they require eyes adapted for seeing in both elements, and the
arrangement described just meets this want.

THE PARROT-FISH.

The birds of the air have, in this region, their representatives in the
water. Among them is the curious and handsome pirarara, or parrot-fish.
It is a heavy, broad-headed creature, with a bony shield over the whole
head. Its general colour is jet-black, its bright yellow sides
deepening into orange here and there. The yellow fat of this fish has a
curious property. The Indians assert that when parrots are fed upon it
t